


Giving Thanks

by sunflower1343



Series: Therapy [6]
Category: Finder no Hyouteki | Finder Series
Genre: Crack, Sappy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-23
Updated: 2016-11-23
Packaged: 2018-09-01 14:13:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8627659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunflower1343/pseuds/sunflower1343
Summary: Tao learns about Thanksgiving and wants to celebrate having a lot to be thankful for.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I made them celebrate Thanksgiving. I actually wrote one very cracky fic where they were stranded near my uncle's farm and they had to put up with my family and eat Thanksgiving dinner. I can't remember if Asami shot anyone, even though I was urging him to... But, this is not that fic. This is about as sappy as it gets. And in keeping with that, happy Thanksgiving to whoever celebrates it; and to all of you reading this, know that you're among the reasons I have to be thankful. 
> 
> Written November, 2005 (before I knew that Asami popped his collars too *headdesk*).
> 
> ~~~~~~~~~~

"I am _not_ wearing that."

"Oh come on, Ryu. Give the kid a break. It's only for one evening. Everyone else is dressing up."

"Everyone else is free to. You look absolutely ridiculous. If that's how pilgrims dressed it's no wonder they were forced out of England."

Akihito stepped back and held out his arms. "What? What's wrong with it? I kind of like it."

Asami winced. "And you're also still wearing the collars on your shirt turned up 30 years after it went out of style."

"You just think you're going to make a fool of yourself if you let your hair down and join in. Admit it."

"I just think I have no desire to wear clunky square-toed shoes, a collar that looks like a bib, and that ridiculous hat."

"But it's for Tao. They learned about the holiday in World History, how it's about giving thanks with your family, and he wanted to do it since he finally has a family to be thankful for."

"Is that sappy violin music I hear? Should I start crying now? You think that pilgrims wore clothes like these? I can't wait to see Fei's costume. The kid just wants blackmail material. You just wait. In a week you'll be paying him to keep pictures of you in that getup off the streets."

A voice interrupted. "It's no use, Akihito. Asami was never meant to be a pilgrim. He's more like the reason they fled England."

They turned to the door. Their swallows were audible. Moccasins. Tight buckskin pants. Long black hair laced with beads and feathers. Shirtless chest and face decorated with designs in body paint. It was a child's notion of an appropriate costume, but the effect was certainly appreciated.

Fei's eyes narrowed. "Why do I get the feeling we're about to reenact the rape of the American Indian?" His face became sly. "Too bad you're not dressed for it..."

Asami growled. "Give me the damned hat." He snatched it from Akihito and jammed it onto his head.

Fei smirked. "Thank you, Miles Standoffish."

He was shoved aside a second later when Tao pushed past him and ran in, eyes sparkling, feathers flying from the tail of his turkey costume. "Is everyone ready?! You look great Uncle Ryuichi!"

The boy gave Asami a hug and looked up at him. "I know you didn't want to do this, so it means a lot that you're doing it anyway. You're the best." He looked at the others shyly. "You're all the best family anyone could want."

He ducked his head and ran from the room, shouting for Cook to start the proceedings.

Asami was quiet for a moment, then sighed and pulled the rest of the costume on. "If either of you ever..."

The other two shook their heads, hands over small smiles as they watched him finish dressing.

Asami bent and picked up a feather from the floor. "Let's get this over with." He stepped in close to Fei. "After all, I have lands to conquer." Fei shivered as the feather skimmed lightly down his chest.

Akihito rolled his eyes. "Are the both of you always in heat? Let's go eat dinner. We've got two turkeys waiting for us."

Fei slid out from under his oppressor and into the hallway, the other two following. "I must say you did an impressive job on Tao's costume Akihito. Wherever did you find all the feathers?"

"Do you think so? Thanks! We worked hard on it. There were a bunch of feathers lying on the floor of the sitting room one day and I used those. I have no idea where they came from."

Fei and Asami stopped dead and stared at him in horror. 

"You didn't."

He looked at Asami, confused. "Didn't what?"

"At least tell me you washed them."

He swiveled his head to look at Fei, understanding dawning. "Oh my God. Where were those feathers from?" 

Fei fled down the stairs, Asami on his heels. "Tao get out of that costume this instant! It's been tainted by the white man!"

Shortly thereafter, two sort-of pilgrims, a pseudo-American Indian, and one plucked turkey sat down to a table laden with traditional American cuisine.

Akihito took in Tao's bowed head and trembling shoulders and reached across the table to gently remove a few stray feathers that still stuck out of his hair. "Sorry, Tao."

Tao laid his head on his arms, the trembling turning to shaking. The three men looked at him in concern. Fei slid off his chair to kneel next to the boy and gather him into his arms. "Tao?"

Tao lifted his head, and the laughter he'd been trying to hold in burst out of him in waves. He gasped. "I've been plucked. 12 years old and I've been plucked. And plucked by Asami Ryuichi no less. Wait till I tell the kids at school."

Asami looked appalled. Akihito grinned, then couldn't help laughing at the look on his lover's face. He couldn't resist. "Turkey plucker."

Fei snorted, then started laughing. "He gives 'chasing tail' a whole new meaning."

Asami glared at the three of them, then shoved the platter of turkey under Akihito's nose. "Pass the food."

The table was quiet as the feast was doled out, except for the occasional under-the-breath _squawk_ or _gobble_ , followed by giggling.

Asami gazed at them thoughtfully. "I think I'm going to have to play truss and stuff the turkey after dinner. I believe I have enough rope to go around." He broke off an ear of Indian corn from the centerpiece and looked from it to Akihito and back.

The clucking ended.

They picked up their silverware, Akihito fumbling with his in disgust. "How do you eat with these things?"

Tao stood up abruptly and waved his hands. "Wait, wait. We have to give thanks. This is the most important part. We each tell what we're most thankful for from the last year."

They all paused and looked at each other. They put down their utensils. Fei said softly, "What are you thankful for, Tao?"

Tao looked at Asami and the corn and his mouth twitched. Then his face turned serious as he looked at Fei. "At the beginning of the year I thought I was losing you. You were pulling back from everyone. You were so sad. It hurt so bad, not being able to do anything for you but make tea and straighten your rooms."

Fei reached out to grasp Tao's hand, his eyes becoming brighter with unshed tears. " _You_ kept me from madness Tao. You were the only thing that brightened my life. You gave me a reason to want to heal. In a way, you're the reason we're all here today."

Tao's breath caught. "I did? I am?" He stared at his father, disbelief then joy racing across his face.

Fei pulled him into his arms, holding him snugly under his chin. "If there's one thing I'm thankful for, it's that you're a part of my life. I'm so glad you're my son." Tao's answer was muffled in Fei's chest, but Fei's shining eyes and tightened arms told them what he'd said.

Akihito wiped tears from his eyes. "We’re all thankful for you, Tao." He turned to Asami. "Aren't we, Ryu?"

Asami had been watching the two, his eyes softer than normal. They shifted to Akihito. "Ah." 

That was all he said, but Akihito saw volumes more. He saw another young boy who had wanted love and family. He reached across the table to take Asami's hand. "You know what I'm thankful for, don't you?"

Asami blinked, then smirked. "That you use a digital camera now?"

Akihito scowled across the table. "I try to have a genuine emotional moment and this is what –"

He found himself being lifted over the table into Asami's lap. A popover was pushed into his mouth. "Oh yes," Asami said softly. "You in the hat and shoes and nothing else, spread across this table tonight. And I'm going to eat my thanksgiving feast all over again and savor every bite."

Akihito blushed furiously and looked to the side.

Asami stroked the reddened cheeks with the back of a finger. "You want to know what I'm thankful for?" His voice was so low he could barely be heard. "I'm thankful for everything about you, Akihito. The way you always blush though we've done this a hundred times. The way you never stop fighting, though the odds are against you. The way you brought us all together and hold us here. But especially for your having a heart that's so large it could love even me."

Akihito stopped squirming. He took the roll from his mouth and set it aside, then slipped his arms around Asami's neck. "Oh Ryu," he said with tears in his eyes, "don't you know that of all the things you've asked of me, loving you was the easiest?"

Asami froze, but his eyes were lit by a warmth that a few months ago Akihito would have claimed was impossible. His mouth curved slightly upward in a ghost of a smile, right before their lips met. The food on the table was forgotten.

At least, it was until a large honk startled them all from their embraces. They looked up to see Cook blowing her nose and wiping her eyes on her apron. "That's beautiful. But if you let this dinner go to waste after all the work it took none of you will be sitting for a week." She brandished her wooden spoon and they paled. She might be tiny, but she was a master of her weapon. They waved her from the room with their thanks and went back to their seats.

Fei muttered, "How does she appear out of nowhere like that? I still think she's a member of a secret ninja clan."

Akihito snorted and tried to pick up his silverware again, dropping the fork and cursing.

"Itadakimasu!" Tao started to dig in.

Asami cleared his throat, and they all paused. "I believe we forgot one thing. A toast is traditional, is it not?" He raised his wineglass, and waited for the others to do the same. "To family."

The others smiled. Whatever families they'd had in the past, over the past few months they'd forged a new one, a good one, one that would stand the test of time. Four pairs of eyes met around the table, acknowledging it.

Their glasses clinked, ruby wine sparkling in the candlelight as they echoed him.

"To family."

 

~end~


End file.
